Boone Tavern exists because of a college. In 1909, Berea College — the school that charges its Appalachian students no tuition and asks them to work for their education instead — needed a proper place for its many visitors to stay and eat. So it built one, named it for Daniel Boone, and staffed it with students. More than a century later, that is still exactly how it runs.
That labor model gives the dining room something money can’t buy: a staff of students, many working their first fine-dining job, who take obvious pride in the place. The room itself is white-tablecloth Southern — tall windows, quiet manners, and a menu built on Kentucky staples done carefully: country ham, fried chicken, and the tavern’s beloved spoonbread, a soft cornmeal soufflé that arrives at every table and has ended more arguments about “best thing on the menu” than any entrée.
The signature dish is Chicken Flakes in a Bird’s Nest — shredded chicken in a crisped potato shell — a recipe with its own local following. Save room: desserts run to chess pie and other Kentucky standards.
What to order: the spoonbread (it comes anyway), the Chicken Flakes in a Bird’s Nest.
Don’t miss: asking your server about the college’s work program — the story is the seasoning.
Historic Eats rating: 8.5/10